It's not a surprise that our jobs make many of us stressed out. Consider what researcher Robert Karasek and others at the University of Southern California have identified as a surefire situation for stress. They said that anyone with a typical job, who is then given a lot of pressure to perform well, and whom is given little to no control over their work is guaranteed to feel very stressed. And doesn't that sound like just about every job you've ever had?

Unfortunately, many of us can't count on home being a relaxing place to seek sanctuary at the end of the day. Let's face it- life at home these days also has become far more demanding, with far more pressure than we'd like. Yeah, we might have a whole host of creature comfort time-saving devices such as microwave ovens, dish washers, vacuum cleaners and take-out cuisine, but it still feels like the pressure we feel at home is getting heavier and heavier, and not lighter. Think about it- you have to get breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in order. You have to keep your house clean and organized, you need to clean your clothes and pay your bills, all the while getting your shopping done, mow the lawn, tend the garden, keep your car in working order, return all those missed phone calls, look over your kids homework and make sure they're staying out of trouble- not to mention all the other little chores that you can't even think of that still tend to pop up here and there, like everything that comes with having a pet.

After all, it's pretty common to hear someone cry out "If only I had a couple of more hours in the day!" When it comes down to it, we feel a ton of stress over the fact that we have all these things to do, and don't feel like we have the time to do them all. Our jobs overwork us, and our homes overwork us, and there's just nothing left at the end of the day. Not enough time, not enough energy, not enough relaxation.

Statistically, everyone is working more than they used to. Women now work (on average) 290 more hours per year than they did a couple decades ago, and the percent of men working over 50 hours a week has been going up since the 70's.

Now, part of the stress we find at home is due to changing family dynamics and arrangements. That stereotypical 50's American family, where the patriarch leaves for work in the morning and the matriarch remains at home to tend the children rarely ever happens anymore. More often than not these days, both parents work- that is, if both parents are even there in the house all the time. The Divorce rate has continued to rise, sitting around 50% of all marriages. Single parent households are becoming the norm. Families that nominally stay together tend to be more and more fragmented as time goes on, with members of the family living farther and farther away from each other. While for some people this can actually help reduce stress in their lives, far more often it creates an alienated, disconnected feeling- on top of the fact you can no longer call on them to help shoulder some of your load.

And once more, things are even tougher for women. Even if she has a partner, a woman is still more likely to do the work. Statistically speaking, women with partners perform the majority of the households shopping (87%), cooking (81%), cleaning (78%) and bill-paying (63%). As they say, a woman's work is truly never done.